159 Splitting the Ground (2/2)

Anyone watching from the side would have been astonished. The youth suddenly sprang high into the air, flipped his body upside down, then sank his sword with one hand into the snow. He was like a puppet tethered to his sword - as if the sword was initiating the movements while he had no choice but to follow.

Stab the target.

”Someone's attacking me.”  He jabbed his sword twice more without thinking and ended the battle. He then raised his head and peered out in bewilderment at the night sky.

He had, to his own surprise, punctured a half foot wide round hole in the snow several meters away from the spot where he knelt, and entered an underground cave. The ceiling of the cave was nearly a foot thick, and its floor was piled with a similar density of snow. Though he had mastered the sped-up Yin and Yang Strength, it was still impossible to perforate a hole like this under normal circumstances.

He used to think that the weakness of Death Scripture's sword technique was that it could not pierce through neck armor. He only now realized that this was a completely unnecessary concern. The sword technique itself was all-powerful; the condition was that one had to have full faith in the sword one wielded and entrust oneself wholeheartedly to it. This was called the state of ”self-deconstruction”.

If Maid Lotus was by his side, he would have immediately and excitedly explained to her that his interpretation of the scripture was the correct one.

Next to him lay three corpses which were carrying knives. Their necks had been slit by a sword and their eyes were wide open. Evidently, they had died unappeasedly. They were constantly guarding in the direction of the tunnel, and did not expect to be attacked from overhead. Nor was there any form of warning, and so they were killed in a single strike.

Beside the corpses, Shangguan Ru sat against the wall. She was in a comatose state with her head tilted to one side.

They were in a crypt that was several square meters big. Its height was slightly taller than an average adult male, while there was a narrow horizontal tunnel barely wide enough for one person. Shangguan Ru had fallen into a trap on the other side of the tunnel and was dragged over by the ambushers, thereby explaining the dirt all over her body.

Gu Shenwei did not understand how he was able to pass through the hole and land standing up. It now seemed to him like something beyond comprehension. Not only was the hole too small for him to pass through, but the cave itself seemed a little too short.

”This sword technique has a certain evil about it,” Gu Shenwei thought from the perspective of a normal human. But he had no misgivings that he would be most willing should Death Scripture really want to transform him into a living dead or an evil demon.

He kept his sword and took out his dagger to deform the sword wounds on the corpses. He then did what he could to enlarge the hole in the ceiling. However, because the frozen soil was extremely rigid, he was only able to enlarge the hole by a few inches before his dagger broke.

He raised his head to take a look outside before he lifted Shangguan Ru and carefully pushed her up on to the ground above, making sure he did not hit her head on to anything during the process. When he was done, he climbed out through the hole himself.

Although she remained unconscious, her breathing was stable, and there was not much of an issue.

Back above ground, Gu Shenwei followed in the direction of the underground tunnel and searched carefully. Eventually, he found a mechanism several meters ahead. It was a movable wooden door which was frozen in thick ice on both sides. It was concealed by snow and was parallel to the ground, and was thus imperceptible.

The trap was probably set up belatedly and hence a further tunnel for escaping could not be dug in time. The designers likely counted on Gu Shenwei leaving the scene to seek reinforcements, thereby allowing the ambushers to bring their hostage away.

Gu Shenwei carried Shangguan Ru and hastily left the garden. It was highly probable that enemies remained in the vicinity - this was certainly not the time to search for them.

Halfway on the road, Shangguan Ru woke up. She had been sedated by a common knockout powder which effectiveness subsided naturally, and thus no antidote was needed. She was, however, livid to say the least; the knockout powder was one of Golden Roc Fort's Ultimate Arts, and it was accordingly an embarrassment to fall so easily to it.

She remained laid upon Slave Huan's back, disgruntedly vowing that she would take revenge on Horned Dragon Society and Meng Mingshi. She was certain that the person who set the trap was the Fifth Young Master.

It was already 9:30 p.m. by the time they returned to the residence in the Outer Hall of South City, where Shangguan Yushi had been waiting anxiously for a long time. The instant she saw Tenth Young Master, covered in dirt, being carried by Slave Huan, she became overexcited and wanted to take hold of her. However, Shangguan Ru got to her feet while stretching her legs, and proclaimed that she was completely alright.

The attack was discussed by the family deep into the night. Everyone eventually agreed that it was a plot by Horned Dragon Society, and thereupon the discussion turned to how and against whom the revenge should be enacted.

The stickiest problem was that Meng Mingshi holed himself up in North City. If not for everyone persuading her against it, Shangguan Ru would have made up her mind to bring the flames of war there.

Gu Shenwei spoke very little so as to quietly observe who could be a hidden traitor.

The trap was a very well thought out one. Its designer seemed to know that Shangguan Ru's Lightness Skill was terrific whereas Slave Huan's was merely average. Had Gu Shenwei not persisted and remained in the area, the enemies' plans would have succeeded - Kun Society's leader would have become their hostage.

This type of information was not what just any person could divulge.

Gu Shenwei had no clue who it could be but simply trusted nobody.

In the end, the discussion produced several schemes for revenge. Each of them required a lot of time and thus had to be delegated downwards to be carried out.

Gu Shenwei secretly ordered Tuo Nengya to step up guard, while he personally kept watch outside Shangguan Ru's room. He presumed that he would escort her back to North City once day broke.

However, an unexpected guest showed up past midnight.

Xu Xiaoyi came running while gasping his breath. He banged as loudly as he could on the door, not only alerting Brother Huan but also waking Tenth Young Master up.

He brought a piece of news which he personally felt was very important. ”Shopkeeper Mi's about to escape! I knew this fella had a problem.”

A big Protector, who had only recently taken over the job, was on the run the same night that Tenth Young Master was attacked... anyone who heard the news would have quickly put two and two together.

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